Santos was proud to present a new state of the art Hospital to the people of Abau, Central Province in PNG through the Government’s Tax Credit scheme.
Abau has a population of more than 55,500.
The Kupiano District Hospital is Santos’ largest investment in the health sector under the Tax Credit Scheme arrangement, which saw a total investment of PGK20.224 million towards the development of the project from Feasibility, Design & Engineering to final completion.
Officiating at the opening ceremony in Kupiano, the capital of the Abau District, Central Province, Santos Executive Vice President for Eastern Australia and PNG, Brett Darley, on behalf of CEO Kevin Gallagher, congratulated the team behind the successful delivery of the new state of the art hospital, which will now provide much-needed health and clinical services to the people of Abau who would otherwise travel nearly 200 km to reach Port Moresby for urgent medical attention or emergencies.
“As I look at this modern infrastructure and the health benefits the hospital will bring to this community and the entire district, I am reminded of Santos’ path to our Vision2040, which outlines our commitment to creating a positive legacy.
“That legacy is one of shared prosperity and strengthening communities for the long term and we are proud of our role in delivering projects such as the Kupiano Hospital that will result in improved health service delivery in remote parts of PNG.
“At Santos, we’ve delivered nearly 300 projects under the General Tax Credit Scheme to the value of PGK524 million right across the country: extending beyond our project impact areas.”
Other projects delivered under the National Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme include the Santos National Football Stadium, Sir Manasupe Haus and APEC Haus at a cost of PGK559 million.
Brett also acknowledged the support from the National Government through the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, the Central Provincial Government and the Abau District and Local Level Governments.
He further acknowledged the former Oil Search Managing Director, Peter Botten, and former Oil Search EVP Gerea Aopi for their vital role in also endorsing the project on behalf of the Company.
The Kupiano District Hospital would not have reached this milestone without the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach especially in rural areas where tax credit programs were also used as part of the PPP component to deliver vital infrastructure and services to communities.
Background
Built in the 1960s, the Kupiano Hospital was formerly known as Kupiano Rural Health Centre.
The hospital redevelopment comes under the government’s Tax Credit Scheme (TCS) project managed by Santos.
Construction work on the hospital commenced in 2017.
The hospital has now been ungraded to a level 4 District Hospital status and will include: an outpatient and emergency department with a procedure room, a general ward consisting of modern equipment with 16 beds, a maternity ward with a spacious delivery room, a minor procedure room, a nurses’ station and 5 ablution rooms.
